Gorgon Zolo: Attorney at Large
by Amaxing
Summary: No. You're not dreaming. It's a third one. Gorgon Zolo: Ace Attorney aka, Roronoa Zoro caught up in a mess again returns to the courtroom, or does he? Well, it really depends on whether you'd consider a hearing run by pirates a courtroom.
1. Again? Really?

Hey Everybody, Max here.

I've been taking a few months off to get situated at college. Boy, oh, boy is it a lot of work. It's also a blast, so I can't complain.

Anyway, for those of you seeing me updating this and wondering 'Hey! Where's Chancellor Moore!', I'll be straight with you. I left all my writing materials for Chance at home. Until I go back, that's going to be on hold. Yeah…

But anyway, on to the disclaimer! SKYLER!

S: What?

Max: I know it's been a while, but… c'mon buddy. For old times sake?

S: Lets see…ah…

Disclaimer: Amaxing is not Zach Braff.

Max: What the… never mind.

A criminal is defined as 'one who breaks away from the mass-accepted law.' More often than not, a thief, gangster, pirate, or other criminal breaks said law in order to improve their own lives, or gain something that they believe the accepted law is unable to give them.

Also more often than not, however, when a particular class of criminal gains a significant number of people, a set of guidelines or laws are set down. For gangsters, this takes the form of 'families', for thieves, there is simply an honor system.

Pirates have a code.

And if a pirate is to break this code, and should there be any doubt as to that man's guilt, a trial is held. Therefore, for every attorney that exists on the proper, aboveground side of the law, there exists another who, more often than not, is called upon to settle the disputes of the underworld.

This is the story of one of them.

Gorgon Zolo: Attorney at Large

The Thousand Suns sailed gracefully along the Grand Line. The time? Before anything involving Ace happened, but after Thriller Barque. If only because the author of this story has, regrettably, been unable to keep up with the manga's storyline up to this point. Not a cloud was in the sky, and the weather was warm and balmy, on account of the summer island that the crew had just departed from. And who, of all the Straw Hat Pirates, would take advantage of such a beautiful day by sleeping it into oblivion? Well, I think we all know the answer to that one.

"Zoro…" Usopp whispered from the deck above the sleeping pirate. "H-hey! Zoro! You've got mail!"

"Are a few pieces of paper and cardboard worth waking up for?" Zoro said angrily, gently feeling around with his hand for Usopp so he knew where to swing.

"Normally, no" Usopp admitted, glad he'd been smart enough to choose a deck a good six feet above Zoro, "but this is a special occasion. I think you've been waiting for this one for a while."

Zoro's eyes opened, and he looked up. "Clever" he admitted. "Are you going to come down here and give to me, or…"

"No, no…" Usopp said, backing away slightly. "I think this'll be just fine, thank you very much. Here, I'm throwing it down now, just make sure you catch…"

The package hit Zoro squarely in the face. By the time the swordsman had recovered and began to look for Usopp, the marksman was already back in his room, quivering behind a bolted door.

"Whatever…" Zoro shrugged, resolving to dangle Usopp over the deck later. He tore into the packaging, not unlike a schoolboy on Christmas, and eagerly pulled out the piece of metal he'd worked so hard to achieve. With it, there was a note, which simply read:

_This attorney's badge is proof of recognition by the World Government that _Gorgon Gouda Zolo _is certified to practice law in any W.G. courthouse._

Zoro smiled. _It's about time_… he thought to himself, before beginning an introductory soliloquy.

_My name is Roronoa Zoro, and I'm the first mate of the world infamous Straw Hat Pirate Crew. Most of you already know that. What you_ might _not know is that, in recent months, I've also become a semi-famous attorney, under the false name: _'Gorgon Zolo'_. It's… a long story. It's also already been written, so feel free to look back and catch up before continuing. You're welcome._

_All caught up? What's it been, a week? Damn you read slowly. Anyway, as you probably noticed, I wasn't exactly keen on the whole attorney business when I first started. But the pay is decent, and Nami's actually beginning to respect me just enough to start relieving some of my debt, which is pretty nice. And now, after a few months of off-screen studying, training, and exam-taking, I've become a licensed attorney. I'm sure that the first thing I'll do with this newfound certification is preside over a perfectly straightforward, conventional, and entirely legal case. Anything other than that wouldn't make any logical sense._

"MAIL CALL!" came Nami's voice from two feet away. Zoro reeled back, grasping his eardrums in both shock and pain.

"When the _hell_ did you get that close?"

"Pretty good, huh?" The tangerine-haired one smiled.

"Pretty good… for what?"

"For my ninja training!" She said, smiling broadly. "Instead of spending way too much time wondering if a pirate or a ninja would win in a fight, I'm going to master _both_ art forms! Pretty smart, huh?"

"Scribblenauts has already proven that pirates beat ninjas," said Zoro. "And…. wait a minute, didn't mail just go? I'm fairly certain that was Usopp's reason for bothering me too."

"Eh?" She frowned. "No… mail definitely didn't just go. The letter-carrier bird just came a minute ago."

"Along with my attorney's badge?"

"You got your attorney's badge?" Nami asked happily. "When did you…"

"Today" Zoro interrupted.

Nami paused, and looked down at the letter in her hand. "Then what's this about? You would think that the government would send notices like this through the actual mail service..."

"The _government_ sent me a letter?" Zoro asked in shock.

"Well, who else would make it out to _Gorgon Zolo, Attorney at Law?_" Nami asked, confusion very clearly written across her face.

Zoro grabbed the letter quickly, meriting an offended grunt from Nami. The envelope was, indeed, addressed to _Gorgon Zolo, Attorney at Law_, and had the Thousand Sun's false registration code beneath the name. Curious, Zoro tore into the envelope, and removed the letter within.

_To Gorgon Zolo (Aka. Roronoa Zoro)_

_There is no official request form for this sort of thing, seeing as we're pirates. To tell the truth, pirate tribunals haven't been held for years, but this is kind of a special case. Things are kind of crazy over here right now, and we need someone who's had experience with this kind of thing to lead the defense, or someone's going to be lynched._

_Coordinates are enclosed. Get over here as quickly as possible. If you refuse this request, it will constitute a betrayal of the pirate's code of conduct, and a vast bounty will be offered for the one who removes your crew from the waters. Bet you don't want that on your head, do you?_

_Hoping to see you soon (for both our sakes),_

_Foxy. The Silver Fox. You do remember me, right?_

"… we, uh… should probably go, huh?" Nami asked, innocently enough.

Zoro sighed. "Why couldn't this be a _normal_ field trip?"

"With the Max?" Nami laughed. "No way!"

"Ooooh…"

-

I don't know if anyone remembers this series, but it's back. If you're interested in the rest of the story, drop me a comment. I do promise there is more. Like, legitimately have it mapped out from this point. Honest. No, I'm not being overly defensive. Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about.


	2. Sanctuary

Dsiclaimer: The new, improved version of telling people I don't own One Piece or Ace Attorney. Internet access, instant chatting, fitted camera… oh man, these things are awesome.

Chapter 2

"Sank…chew…airy…" Luffy pronounced slowly. "Your next trial in is under the sea, can't just be swallowed, and isn't heavy?"

"You see, that _would_ have been clever" Nami commented, leaning over the balcony, "if you didn't actually mean what you just said." The sunset was particularly beautiful that day, and the three original members of the Straw Hat Pirate crew had decided to take in the sights.

"Oro?" uttered Luffy.

"Wrong manga," Zoro commented, eyes shut tight.

"_Sanctuary_" Nami explained, "means safe-haven, like a place you go to be protected. Apparently, it's the name of the island that Foxy's latest escapade happened on."

"Eskimo?" Luffy inquired.

"Don't even bother" Zoro interjected before Nami could start to explain. "It's not worth the ensuing migraine." He opened one eye, and looked towards Luffy. "By the way, Luffy… are you sure you're alright with all of this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Luffy asked cheerfully, bouncing slightly on the Thousand Suns figurehead. "I'm always up for adventure, you know!"

"Well, yeah…" Zoro shrugged. "But all of these trials we've had lately… aren't they cutting in to your becoming King of the Pirates?"

"Believe it or not, I actually did think of that" Luffy answered. "But then I figured, the King of the Pirates has to have the world's greatest lawyer, right? So I don't really mind all that much."

"That actually made perfect sense" Nami said, a little shocked. "Care to explain your logic on that one, Luffy?"

"The King of the Pirates has to have the best of everything, right?" Luffy asked in the form of a statement. "So if a lawyer is something you can have, then that counts too!"

"Thought so" Nami sighed. "Completely logical conclusion… completely inane reasoning."

"Who else but Luffy, right?" Zoro chuckled.

"Because you never really know what I'm gonna do next?" Luffy asked.

Zoro sighed. "Yes, Luffy. But we were trying to be subtle about it." He shook his head. "Where have all the _good_ references gone?"

"And where are all the gods?"

"LUFFY!"

"Sorry…"

-Sanctuary. 11/02. 11:15 pm.

Sanctuary was an oxymoron wrapped in a contradiction, bathed in a paradox, slightly scented with an enigma, tied up in a class-action lawsuit, and locked up in a Chinese puzzle box that Jackie Chan doesn't figure out how to open until the end of the movie. On one hand, the island was as peaceful as the name suggested: being an autumn island the weather was calm, sometimes prone to light drizzles, and the air was cool and crisp. The majority of the island was set on a large, gently sloping hill, filled to the brim with oak, elm, fir, and ash trees… all in full autumnal display.

On the other hand, the very top of the hill had been forcibly made into a crater. Lined across this crater were thousands of cannons pointed in every conceivable direction, and within the crater itself there was an enormous town, populated entirely by current and retired pirates. It was here the first pirate tribunals had been held, and where the first great pirates of yore had crafted that sacred standard for all crews that sailed under the Jolly Roger: the Code.

Needless to say, to be practically begged to come to such a place was quite an honor indeed. To have your every action announced to you from afar? Well, that could get kind of annoying.

"And bearing down on the isle of Sanctuary we have the _Straw Hat Pirates!_" came Itomimizu's voice from afar. "They seem to approaching us at a speed of approximately twenty knots, and also seemed to have obtained an absolutely _enormous_ new ship since last we met! Oh, the excitement! I wonder what it's name is? The Roaring Lion? The Mighty Rubber? The…"

"That's great, Itomimizu" the crew's idol, Porche commented, taking the mike briefly away from the Foxy Pirate's commentator. "But isn't there something more important we should be talking about right now, nyuah? Oh… and hi Choppy! I missed you!"

"Ahem… yes" Itomimizu said. "If we are correctly informed, the Straw Hat Pirate crew's very own Roronoa Zoro is, in fact, _Gorgon Zolo_, a defense attorney of recent notoriety who had never lost a case! With such a competent lawyer amongst us, the recent incidents of the past few days could very well shape up into the _pirate tribunal of the decade!_"

"And it _would _be the Straw Hat Pirates at the center of it all, nyuah?" Porche commented. "Oh! It looks like they're about to dock! Let's observe a moment of silence as our great captain, Foxy the Silver Fox, greets our contestants! Or… attorneys, nyuah?"

"Ah, that divine voice, that perfect symmetry of form, visible even from here!" Sanji cooed in his first line of the story. "I'M COMING SWEETY!" he yelled, throwing himself from the deck the minute the boat docked.

"She actually liked him," Nami recalled. "So we might not see him for a while…"

"Best news I've heard all day," Zoro said, groggily standing up from his twelve-hour napping post. He walked down the deck briefly, Nami in tow, and was greeted with a sort of awkward wave from Foxy. "Hey" the swordsman greeted gruffly. "So what did you get yourself into this time?"

Foxy became depressed, and fell down, just barely catching himself on his arms. "So that's how it is, huh? Something bad happens and you automatically assume it's me? Waaaah…."

"_YOU KEPT THE FLAG!"_ Luffy yelled happily, looking over Sexy Fox (which was the name of the ship, for those of you who've forgotten). "Dude, that's awesome!"

"OR IN OTHER WORDS…" Foxy yelled, suddenly cheerful again.

"EXCELLENT!" they screamed in unison.

"Anyway…" Foxy grinned. "It certainly is a pleasure to see you all again! To be honest, I wasn't sure if the 'violation of the code resulting in death' thing was going to tri… I mean, convince you to come."

"We came because we expect to be _paid_" Nami stressed. "We know very well that refusing a tribunal doesn't break code… seeing as tribunals really don't exist anymore."

"Hey, don't look at me!" Foxy laughed. "Take the matter of financing up with the accused, not with me!"

"So the suspect isn't a member of your crew?" Zoro asked.

"Nope, not in any sense of the word" Foxy smiled. "Neither is the victim, if you were wondering why we seem in such high spirits with a murderer in our midst."

_Why is it always a murder?_ thought Zoro.

"It's more intense and exciting right from the get go" Nami explained in a hushed tone of voice.

_Ah… the mind reading gag. I missed you in chapter one. Not. _

"Where is the accused being held?" Zoro asked curtly.

"See that gigantic bell tower over there?" Foxy said, pointing to a… well… a gigantic bell tower. "He's in there. Quiet guy, though. Easily depressed too, which is just something I can't stand in a man, you know?"

"You look like you've gained weight" said Zoro offhandedly.

"_DO I REALLY???" _Foxy wailed, dropping back down to the ground. "I… I know I've been overdoing the dark chocolate and limonade lately, but… waaaah…"

"Oh, cheer up, Foxy!" Nami said sweetly. "We still need to pump more information out of you, so you're not completely useless!"

"YAYZ!" Foxy yelled, rebounding with enviable speed. "Ask me anything! Go on! I'm a fountain of information… and youth! And chocolate!"

"And lard!" Zoro chimed in uncontrollably.

"Waaaaah…."

-Several emotional ups and downs later….

"Alright…" Foxy said, shaking slightly from all the bipolar mood swings he'd experienced. "We were in a Davy Back fight with another crew. Standard procedure, nothing particularly fancy." He pulled on the lapels of his coat, thrusting his chest out slightly. "We were playing fair and square as usual, when…."

**OBJECTION!**

"_And there it is! Gorgon Zolo's legendary OBJECTION!_" Itomimizu yelled. "A sure sign that the truth of this case is on its way to being revealed!"

"Sends shivers down your spine, nyuah?" commented Porche. "A voice like that has to belong to a strong, yet cultured and incredibly attractive man…"

"DAMN…. YOU… ZORO!!!!" came Sanji's voice from afar.

Zoro paused for a moment, making sure the commentary had died down, and continued. "Yeah… you were cheating. Just so you know, it's best not to lie about anything in these sorts of situations. Makes everything that much easier."

"You didn't… believe… me?" Foxy moped, back on the ground.

"No… but you didn't expect us to, did you?" Nami asked.

"OF COURSE I DIDN'T!" Foxy sprung back up. "Why would I expect… wait…" He paused. "Oh… now I don't know how I'm supposed to feel…"

"Happy" Nami suggested.

"_Happy it is, then!_" Foxy cheered. "Anyway, the details of the crime still haven't been released to most of us. All I know is that after the Groggy Ring competition, I went to meet with the captain about which crewmate he'd lose next, and…" He slumped over slightly, but not in his usual depressed state. "He was kind of… dead. From what, I don't know… but it probably had something to do with his head being caved in."

"That's as good a place to start as any" Zoro nodded. "I suppose we'll head in now. Luffy, did you want to come?"

"Are you kidding?" the captain laughed. "It's a new town! Food! Adventure! Food! … Food!" He paused for a minute, trying to think of something else to say, and then shrugged and ran off.

"It's the simple people in life you treasure, I suppose" Zoro laughed, striding towards the bell tower.

Alright, place ya bets, place ya bets! Who's the rival crew? Who was murdered? Who's the suspect? I'll give you a hint, the rival crew, victim, and suspect are all canon characters, so you can guess anyone from the manga! Before the whole 'Ace is going to die' arc. Winner gets… winner stuff!


	3. Our client, ladies and gentlemen

Hey everyone! Max here! Sorry for the whole… delay thing, but it's going to be like this for a while I'm afraid. Busy, Busy, Busy over here.

But enough about me. Let's talk about Zoro.

Disclaimer: Brothers and sisters, put this story down. Take my advice; 'cause _we don't own this_. We will leave you feeling gipped. You'll stare and ask 'what is this sh…"

Well. Let's move on.

Chapter 3

"How the hell…." Zoro gasped.

"Well what exactly are we supposed to do now?" asked Nami to no one in particular.

"No need to look so put off," Foxy laughed. The three of them had reached the top of Sanctuary on their way to the bell tower, and Zoro and Nami were amazed at the sheer steepness of the crater walls surrounding the town. "You see that makeshift elevator over there, yes?" Foxy continued; pointing to a pulley and rope attached to a small platform. "We use that to traverse the crater walls when necessary. Quite ingenious, no? I'll have you know _I_ designed it, and…"

"Bull," called Zoro.

"_How did you… why did you… waah…"_

Nami sighed. "Let's just get back to the plot, shall we?"

-

The inside of the bell tower had been transformed into a makeshift holding cell. Pickles and Big Pan, of Groggy Ring fame, stood on either side of a hastily reinforced door, in case the prisoner decided to run for it. They nodded at Zoro and Nami, laughed inappropriately as they were want to do, and opened the door, allowing the swordsman and his assistant to enter.

Zoro gasped. Because the suspect, hastily restrained with a few chains and handcuffs, was someone he had honestly expected never to see again. Someone tied to horrible, yet proud memories, back in the very beginning of his pirate career, however long a time ago it had been. His neatly maintained goatee had grown scraggly, and his once fiery eyes were now wide with disbelief and sadness.

It was truly a horrible sight to behold, and Zoro, still unable to fully breathe, could only utter a single word. "… G…Gin?"

The man looked up from whatever void he'd been staring in and smiled weakly at Zoro. "Heh… so you're… not dead after all… huh?" he croaked.

"I could say the same thing about you" Zoro said, kneeling down to match the pirate's eye level. "The last time I saw you, it was unclear whether you were going to die of poison gas or not." He smiled. "Glad to see it was the latter instead of the former."

"Uh… Zoro?" Nami asked. "Who is this?"

"I could… say the same thing… to you" Gin rasped. He extended a hand as far as his chains and weakness would allow him. "The name is Gin. What would yours be, beautiful?"

Nami blushed almost instantly, and took the hand nervously. "I'm… Nami" she managed. "I'm the navigator for the Straw Hat Pirates."

"Must be a… very smart woman" Gin complimented. "And how is Straw Hat? I did want… to see him again…before…" he coughed violently, and horrible memories of poison gas surfaced in Zoro's mind. "Gin" he said sternly. "They have to treat you better than this. You're a suspect, but you're still a human being, damn it! As soon as I see Foxy again, I'll…"

"No…" Gin said quickly. "They haven't been… neglecting me" he hung his head, staring at the floor. "Lord knows I've tried…to eat. Tried… to sleep. I can barely hold down water…" His eyes widened, and he began to breathe faster. "It's just that… every time I rest… it's the only thing… that I can…see!"

"Sh…" Nami said, reaching an arm around Gin's neck. "Shh, it's ok… it's going to be alright now."

Gin pushed her away gently. "Thank you… but you don't…understand…" he looked Zoro directly in the eye. "You were there, though… you understand… how I must feel…"

He knew the answer before he asked, but he had to make sure. "Who was it, Gin?" Zoro whispered. "The victim… who was it?"

Tears began to form in Gin's eyes, and he fell to the floor. "Don Krieg…" he mumbled bitterly. "Don… Krieg… is dead!"

Short enough, yeah, but I want to let you guys know I'm still here, really. The next chapter is where we start gathering up evidence and clues, so pay attention!


End file.
